Is a knee scooter better than crutches?
Knee scooters have some serious limitations to be aware of as you choose a mobility device for lower leg injuries and foot injuries such as sprained ankles, Achilles tendon ruptures and Jones fractures. These four-wheeled knee walkers, scooter crutches, mobility knee scooters, or knee rollers, have been gaining in popularity as a crutch alternative despite being so large and cumbersome. The bulkiness of the knee scooter makes them difficult to transport, and their large turning radius makes navigating in small spaces impossible.
While knee scooters do eliminate the pain associated with conventional under arm crutches, knee scooters problems still exist. You must use both hands to steer, making a hands-free knee scooter an impossible dream. Even simple tasks difficult to accomplish. Also, since they have wheels, uneven or sloped ground is extremely challenging. And you can bet that for knee scooters, stairs are completely out of the question!
When comparing knee scooters to iWALK Crutch, it is clear that the iWALK Crutch is the best crutch alternative. While the iWALK Crutch works similar to a knee scooter in that you kneel on your shin, it offers so much more in mobility and freedom. The iWALk Crutch is a hands-free, pain-free crutch that solves the limitations of bulky knee scooters. It is lightweight, so it is easy to transport, and as an extension of your leg, it is easy to navigate very small spaces. In fact, you can even use your iWALK Crutch in the shower!
The iWALK Crutch is pain-free like knee scooters, but since it is also hands-free you can return to your normal day-to-day activities unrestricted, so that you can take care of yourself, and those around you while your lower leg injuries heal. The iWALK Crutch doesn’t share a knee walkers problems, because it’s a temporary lower leg! See our iWALK Crutch and Knee Scooter Comparison Chart below to see why the iWALK Crutch is the BEST mobility device for lower leg injuries!
So how can we compare a knee scooter vs an iWALK crutch?
Dr. Jeffrie Leibovitz gives an unsolicited comparison of the iWALK Crutch and the knee scooter, noting the pros and cons of each.
iWALK Crutch: YES – iWALK Crutch is indicated for virtually all lower leg non-weight bearing injuries.
Knee Scooters: YES – Knee scooters are indicated for almost all lower leg non-weight bearing injuries.
iWALK Crutch: YES – Your hands and arms are completely free, just like normal, so it’s pain free.
Knee Scooters: YES – You are not bearing your weight on your hands, wrists or arms so typical crutch pain is eliminated.
iWALK Crutch: YES – Elevation of the injured area is known to speed healing, and iWALK Crutch provides partial elevation.
Knee Scooters: YES – Elevation of the injured area is known to speed healing, and knee scooters provide partial elevation.
iWALK Crutch: YES – iWALK Crutch is 100% hands free, so you can return to a normal, functional, independent lifestyle.
Knee Scooters: NO – You need both your hands to steer and balance on the knee scooter. You can’t do normal daily activities.
iWALK Crutch: YES – We don’t know of a safer mobility device for stairs. Not only are using your legs for balance and support, you have full access to the hand rail.
Knee Scooters: NO – For obvious reasons, you cannot use a knee scooter on stairs. Even going up or down a curb can be dangerous.
iWALK Crutch: YES – You can certainly adapt to different surfaces and terrain in confidence.
Knee Scooters: NO – Scooters work best on flat, hard, level ground. Surfaces such as gravel, grass, slopes, curbs, carpet or other uneven terrain are difficult or impossible on scooters.
iWALK Crutch: YES – iWALK Crutch can go where you do. It’s simply a temporary lower leg – you can go where you want and do what you need.
Knee Scooters: NO – The turning radius is too large to allow efficient navigation of tight spaces such as a kitchen or bathroom.
iWALK Crutch: YES – iWALK Crutch is light (4.2 lbs) and compact, and easily fits onto a car seat. Disassembled (2 minutes without tools), it’s about the size of a shoebox.
Knee Scooters: NO – Scooters are large and bulky, and typically weigh over 20 pounds. They are hard to fit into a typical car trunk, plus you then have to somehow hop to the car door unassisted.
iWALK Crutch: YES – Because you can do all your daily tasks on the iWALK Crutch, there’s no need to be non-compliant.
Knee Scooters: NO – Scooters have significant limitations which leaves users little option but to “cheat” (non-compliance).
iWALK Crutch: YES – All of the muscles of your upper leg are used like normal when walking on the iWALK Crutch, so muscle atrophy is significantly reduced.
Knee Scooters: NO – Other than kneeling, your leg is stationary on a knee scooter.
iWALK Crutch: YES – You won’t be running any marathons, but iWALK Crutch lets you do just about everything you used to do in your daily routine.
Knee Scooters: NO – Other than getting from point A to point B on level ground, scooters won’t allow you full hands free functionality. Access and navigation in small areas is also restricted.
When you consider having the use of your hands and arms, the ability to navigate small spaces, uneven terrain, and go up or down stairs, iWALK Crutch is clearly superior, and a great scooter alternative. So when it comes to a knee crutch vs a knee scooter, why would you roll, when you can walk?
